Changes noted

Today I have woken up feeling much better, very optimistic and ... happy! Wow, what a relief! The shivering is still there and I have a feeling I will dip later but it's a start! I actually feel like I want to do stuff today however I must remember 'baby steps' so I will get some housework underway rather than go out and knacker myself. Hmm, maybe just maybe I've turned a corner.

Here are a few interesting things I have noticed since stopping the Effexor:

1. I don't wake up with a headache anymore.
2. I am not bruising easily anymore.
3. I am not overheating anymore.
4. My blood pressure is absolutely normal, rather than high.
5. My pulse rate is lower.
6. I am not getting easily irritated.

These are all things I was willing to put up with at the time, in fact the only thing I wasn't willing to put up with was the high blood pressure which was why I came off the stuff, but it is wonderful not to have legs covered in bruises and to be able to wear a sweater without overheating. What was the Effexor doing to my body? Effectively, I think it was poisoning me!

I am sure Effexor has a valuable place in the medical dictionary but for people like me, with run-of-the-mill anxiety and depression I think it is too strong and carries too many risks. To have my mind and body controlled the way it has been during withdrawal is major and very frightening and indicates to me that it is indeed a very powerful drug. I have felt like a drug addict becoming clean of heroin or something!

Thankfully my hubby has been my rock, I think I would've given in and gone back on it the other day when I broke down if it hadn't been for him supporting me. I am sure if I had gone to the doctor's instead I would have been admitted or drugged up to the eyeballs by now.

I think today is going to be a good day, I'll let you know!